Hayeswater Circuit 18.7km 9 ................................ 33

of people gathered to cheer me on and my family waiting to give me a big hug. Watching the footage of my arrival back in Keswick still makes me happy to this day. Since completing the Wainwrights in record time I have been ticking them off again, albeit in a very different way, by walking them with my family. Walking them at a slower pace has given me a different appreciation of the fells: I get more time to enjoy the views and the changing weather, as well as seeing the plants and animals that I miss when running. We started doing the easier ones when our children were young, with very slow ascents of Cat Bells and Hallin Fell, but now they are older we can do long days, and have done several of the routes in this book. We always have an enjoyable day out, and plan our routes to finish the day near a cafe so we can enjoy a cup of tea and cake afterwards. We now have fewer than 80 to do as a family. Taking it slow also means I have come to appreciate why some the Wainwright summits are located not at the highest point, but sometimes in what appear to be strange places – of course, Wainwright chose the points with the best views. It took me ages to find what I hoped would be the optimum route to complete the Wainwrights in record time. I started with the route of the previous record holder, Joss Naylor, but I thought it could be improved. So, being a map geek, I spent many nights thinking about joining 214 dots together in the most efficient order, in a loop that would start and finish in Keswick. Having devised what I thought was a good route, I sought the advice of the two people I knew could make the route even better: Karen and Dan Parker, the authors of this book and my sister and brother-in-law. They have an expert knowledge of the fells and the routes between them, as well as the skill to be able to look at a map and work out the shortest distance from one place to another with the least climbing. After their input and another iteration by me, I eventually settled on a route I was happy with – 519 kilometres with 35,000 metres of ascent (16 kilometres and 2,000 metres less ascent than Joss Naylor’s route). This route has now just about become the standard for doing a continuous round of the Wainwrights, and is shown at the end of this book (page 219). I made one error in planning my route, in that Seat Sandal I placed in a section with Fairfield whereas actually it is more efficient to complete it in a section with Helvellyn. Some people also tick off Middle Fell and Seatallan the other way round, and similarly complete Scafell Pike and Lingmell the opposite way I followed. Despite this, the route has now become popular with runners attempting new records – at the time of writing, the current record is held by Sabrina Verjee, with a time of 5 days, 23 hours and 49 minutes, completed in June 2021. Karen and Dan Parker have used their extensive local knowledge and route-planning skills to do a fantastic job picking out 45 routes around all of Wainwright’s peaks. I hope this book and the routes contained within it inspire you to get out and enjoy the fells, and that they bring you as much happiness as they have brought me.

Sail Beck. © Andrew Locking – andrewswalks.co.uk

Steve Birkinshaw